I Attended Taiwan Pride 2017 and All I Got Were Hot Go-Go Boys and Marriage Equality

It wasn’t even noon yet and the Taipei main station was already packed by people who came for Taiwan Pride 2017. This was the very first time the Taiwan Pride organizers included a third route for the parade. All the streets were crowded all the way to Peace Memorial Park. According to the official calculation, 120,000 people joined this grand event.

Instead of being cloudy like the weather report predicted, it was a lovely Taiwanese sunny day (just right for all the shirts to go off). Around 1 p.m., people had already gathered round in front of the main stage and all the floats, DJs, go go boys, drag queens, ribbons and sequins backstage were getting ready for the parade.

Following the big orange Hornet flags, the Hornet float fiercely moved forward with super-hot gogo boys and dancers — wearing black boots, sexy Andrew Christian underwear and harnesses, Hornet sticker tattoos on their chests — and two of Taipei’s most fabulous drag queens, slaying for the cameras.

The west route started on Gongyuan Road by the Memorial Park at 2:35 p.m. beginning with a huge rainbow flag carried by 18 volunteers — such a touching image for the parade opening!

With a shiny sequin-arched stage and orange carnival bubbles, the Hornet float arrived, lighting up the streets with gogo boys being their sexy selves and enjoining a beautiful afternoon with the parade crowd.

The Effect of the LGBT Movement Can Never Be Underestimated

Taiwan LGBT Pride is always bold with their theme, they don’t ever go the cautious conservative route. They focus on high-key issues just like a double-edged sword. Let’s review the themes for 2015 (“No age limit — free the closets, own your youth!”), the theme for 2016 (“Fun together — say no to fake friendliness, honor diversity like you mean it.”) and the theme this year (“Make Love, Not War — Sex Ed is the Way to Go”), bringing sex education to the public and delivering a complete and strong message to the outside world.

A very important part of the Taiwan Pride 2017 parade was celebrating the recent ruling of the Taiwanese Constitutional Court. Even though the Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, there’s still a long way to go before we actually change the law. We had Tokyo Rainbow Pride, all the way from Japan, shouting out, “Congratulations Taiwan on marriage equality — Japan will be the next!”

Thanks for all the hard work to everyone who participated this grand event of Taiwan Pride 2017. We’ve come so far but we’ve got so far to go! Because #LoveisLove, so no matter how far it gets. Believe that #LoveWins and keep following the rainbow in your heart.